Plant for washing coal and other minerals by means of liquid streams



Nov. 17, 1925- I ,561, 19

- A; FRANCE Y I PLANT FOR WASHING COAL AN OTHER} MINERALS- BY'HMEAZNS 0F LIQUID STREAMS Filqd Feb. 26. ,1924

Patented Na 17, 1925,

\UNI'TED' :S-TATES 1 PATENT oFFicE.

ANTOINE FRANCE, or mean, BELGIUM.

PLANT FOR WASHING COAL AND OTHER MINERALS BY MEAN S, OF LIQUID STREAMS Application filed February 26, 1924. Serial No. 695,262.

' subject of the King of the Belgians, residing at Liege, Belgium, 17 Quai Saint Leonard, have invented new and usetul Iinprove'ments in or Relating to Plants. for;

\Va-shing Coal and Other Minerals by Means of Liquid Streams, of which the following is a specification.

I The present invention relates to' improvements in plant for washing coal and other minerals by means of liquid streams, and more particularly to plant of the kind -wherein two or more .wet sorting apparatus crossed by adjustable upward streams are arranged at intervals along a sloping launder in which the products are first classified under the influence of a so-called horizontal liquid stream, and to which suitable mechanical means ;(such asfor instance a bucket elevator) return, substantially at the point where the raw products are fed to the said launder, the products discharged by the last one or ones of the wet sorting apparatus depending from the aforesaid launder. The wet sorting apparatus. referred to may for instance be of the type described and claimed in the specification of Patent No. 1,492,025

, granted February 25th 1924;, and inlthe specification of Patent No. l,-4 l1,'571 granted January 9th 1923.

The characterizing principle of the present invention essentially resides in the provision, in mineral washing plants of the kind. referred to, of a-complementarycradditional wet sorting apparatus depending from an extension of the launder at a point situated up-stream in relation to the point of introduction of'the raw products into the said launder, together with suitable mechanical means (such as for instance a bucket elevator) for bringing back to the top end of such launder extension the productsdischarged by the first one or ones of the wet sortingapparatus situated down-stream in relation to the point of introduction of the raw. roduets' into the launder, a crushing mill beingplaced in the launder extension immediately downstream in relation to the additional wet sorting apparatus for the purpose of distintegrating the s0-called striped particles (i. e. wherein constituents of difierent specific gravities are closely allied in individual particles) which may be contained in the raw mineral.

In order that the nature and the mode of operation of' the invention may be more readily understood, ,the said invention will now be described in detail by reference to the accompanying illustrative drawings, wherein: I Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic longitudinal elevation, partly in section, of an embodiment of a mineral washing plant carried out in accordance with the invention, and more particularly designed for the. treatment of coal containing a proportion of striped particles, that is to say particles which are not of uniform composition throughout their mass and wherein constituents of different specific gravities are closely allied in an individual particle, and

Figs. 2 to 7 are transverse sections through the launder taken respectively at the points 22,' 3 -3, 4-4, 5-'5,' 6-6 and 77, of Fig. 1

Inthe various sectional views through the launder, Figs, 2 to 7 thelayers constituted. by the various categories of products and the liquid stream are represented in the following conventional manner:

The diagonal cross shading indicates pure schists or products of high specific gravity;

The lain vertical shading indicates intermediate or regulating products;

' The dotted shading indicates pure coal or products of low specificgravity; I

The plain horizontal shading indicates striped particles, and the broken line horizontal shading indicates water.

Referring to Fig. 1, the plant comprises a launder a, slightly sloping in relation to the horizontal, and in which' the raw products to be treated are fed by means of a supply hopper b, in order to be classified in the said launder under the influence of a so-called horizontal water stream. This launder is, according to the present invention, ex tended up-stream in relation to the point of introduction of the raw products, as indicated at a. At intervals along the launder proper a, are arranged wet sorting apparatus, of which two, a and of respectively, are

a r v to sink therein are subjected to the action of an upward water stream. The water for the so-called horizontal stream in the launder and the upward streams in the wet sorting apparatus is supplied by means of branch-pipes f. on a main supply-pipe supplying water under pressure, the said ing chamber of the said apparatus. -Means.

of particular construction,comprising substantially a vertical plate or wall z having its upper portion bent back against the bottom of the launder, and movable in a horizontal direction by means of a suitable ad-' 'justment device j operated from outside, are

provided in. the embodiment illustrated for adjusting the size of the sorting chamber of each apparatus andof the passage for the discharged products resulting from the opening of the oscillatory flaps 12.

,A bucket elevator Itis provided to take up the discharged products from the last one (Z ofthe wet sorting apparatus depend ing from the launder a and to return same by way of a chute l to the top of the launder a closeto the point of introduction into the latter of the raw products which are fed thereto by the supply hopper b. v

A complen'ientary or additional wet sorting apparatus m, ot' construction identical to that of the apparatus c and (Z is according to the present invention arranged on the. extended portion a 01 the launder up-stream in relation to the supply of raw products, and a bucket elevator 12 is provided to take up and to return, by way of a chute 0, to the top end of the said extension (1. of the launder, and therefore lip-stream in relation not only to the point of supply of the raw products but also to the complementary wet sorting apparatus m, the products discharged by the first one o of the wet sorting apparatus situated down-stream in relation to the point of int roduction into the launder of the raw products ted thereto by the supply hopper 1). Finally a bucket elevator is provided to 'efl'ect the removal of the products discharged by the complementary wet sorting apparatus m.

The plant according to the invention, moreover comprises a suitably operated crushing mill 7'" or like device, arranged in the extended portion a of the launder between the complementary wet sorting apparatus m and the point of introduction into the said launder of the raw products fed thereto by the supply hopper b.

The operation of the plant shown in Fig. 1 may briefly be described as follows:

The raw products are fed by the supply hopper b to the launder a in which they are taken up and sorted by the so-called horizontal water stream, so that just before the sorting apparatus '0 (section Fig. 5) the products are divided into three layers: a layer of schists or high specific gravity material on the bottom of the launder a layer of products of-intermediate specific gravity and striped particles above this layer of schists, and finally uppermost a layer of clean coal. There may readily be wlthdrawn by this sorting apparatus 0 a quantity of material comprising the totality of the pure schists or products of high specific gravity and a portion of the intermediate products and striped particles, so that immediately before the second wet sorting apparatus (I (which constitutes what may be called a regulating-product apparatus) the cross section of the launder has the appearance shown in Fig. 6, that is to say with the pure schists entirely eliminated the remainder of the intermediate products and of thestriped particles on the bottom of the launder, and the clean coal above:"r\t this point, there may be readily withdrawn by the wet sorting apparatus at the whole of the remainder of the intermediate products and of the striped particles and even a small portion of clean coal, so as to be absolutely certain to obtain at the lower end of the launder a (section Fig. 7 absolutely clean coal only. The wet sorting apparatus (i may be called regulating product apparatus because it is-themeans of obtaining products serving a regulating purpose in this sense that the said products are brought back by the elevator is to a point of the launder a. immediately down-stream in relation tothe supply of raw products, and, being constituted,o1".

particles'ot' intermediate specific gravity and of striped? particles of which themean specific gravity assimilates them to the said intermediate particles, form a kind of par-. tition between the extreme products, i. e. be-

tween the products of highest and of lowest specific gravities. as shown in Fig. 5.

As to ,the productsdischarged by the apparatus. 0, these products, consisting of schists or products of high specific gravity and of just such portion of intermediate products and striped particles which are of highest specific gravity, are introduced into the extended launder a up-stream in relation to the supply of raw products and to the complementary wet sorting apparatus m,-which is also situated'up-strea'm in relation to the supply of raw products and constitutes What may be called a pure schist apparatus. The material in the launder just beforev this complementarysorting ap paratus m (section Fig. 2) shows two layers: pure schists on the bottom of the launder and striped particles and intermediate prodnets of comparatively highest specific gravity above. It will be readily understood that the withdrawal of absolutely pure schists by this wet sorting apparatus m may easilybe obtained as there are only two layers of products in the launder at this point.

The launder extension (1 immediately down-stream in relation to the said wet .soi'ting apparatus 721- thns contains practically nothing else than a layer of dense intermediate products together with striped particles (see section Fig. 3). The latter being disintegrated by the crushing mill 1- so as vto detach the .coal constituent from the schist constituent allied thereto in the individual particles, such coal and such schist take their place respectively aboye .and below the intermediate products as shown in section Fig. 4, and immediately downstream in relation to the supply of raw products from the hopper b, join respectively the coal and the schist contained in the raw product while the intermediate products interpose themselves between the extreme layers of the-raw products and thus increase the thickness of the artificial partition constituted by the initial'intermediate products between the extreme products,

which ensures the discharge by the sorting apparatus a of a product entirely free of clean coal.

Vhen this layer of intermediate products becomes too thick,'the products'in the said layer which are of comparatively lower specific gravity, i; e. the cleanest, which plant they will by the mere mode of operation of. the said plant be brought back to the said crushing device until the dlssociation ot the various constituents allied 1n the individual striped particles is completely The advantages of the mineral washing plant according to the invention may be summarized as follows:

1st. Increased efiiciency of the apparatus for the elimination of schi'sts situated upstream in relation to the supply of raw products, resulting from the absence of products of low specific gravity in the portion of.

the launder extending up stream in relation to the said apparatus: Consequently, theefiiciency of the washing process may be pushed -ing plant, obviating any variations in the up to the extremely fine particles, whereby products ranging in size from 0 up to 3 inches may betreated at the same time.

' 2nd. Complete automaticity of the wash plant, the described arrangement being of an efliciency: equal to that of two distinct complete installations with two wet sorting apparatus each;

4th. -Reduction of the water consumption owing to thefact that there is only a single launder, and consequent reduction of the size of the settling tanks, of the required output of the pumps, etc.

5th. Simplification of the crushing device and consequent reduction of the cost of erection and up-keep in the case of the treatment of raw products containing a certain proportion of striped particles.

- It should be expressly understood that the invention is in no way restricted-to the em bodiments illustrated, and more particularly that the bucket elevators provided in the illustrated embodiments for returning to the launder the products discharged by some of the wet sorting apparatus may be replaced by any other mechanical means suitable for the purpose, for instance by pumps in cases where the raw products consist of particles of small size only.

I claim:

1. In plant for washing coal and other minerals bymeans of liquid streams, the. combination with a launder for the initial classification of the mineral under the influence of a liquid conveying st-reai'n having a slight downward slope in relation to the horizontal, means for feeding the raw mineral to the highest end of said launder. a plurality of adjustable wet. sorting apparatus for com leting the classification under the action 0 upward liquid streams. depending from and in 1-ommunication with the launder, and mechanical means for removing the products discharged by the sorting apparatus closest to the. low end of the launder and returning them into said launder immediately below the aforesaid feeding means. of: a launder extension leading to the highest end of the aforesaid launder, an additional adjustable upward stream wet sorting apparatus depending from and in communication with ,said' launder extension, mechanical means for removing the products discharged by'thc sorting apparatus closest 1 to the high end of the launder and discharging them into the portion of the launder extension leading to the additional sorting apparatus, and a crushing mill arranged in the aforesaid launder extension between the last named sorting apparatus and the high end of the launder, substantially as" de scribed. I v

2. In plant for washing coal and other minerals by means of liquid streams, the combination of: a launder having a slight downward slope in relation to the horizontal, means for feeding the raw mineral to the highest end of said launder, a plurality of adjustable wet sorting apparatus arranged at intervalsalong and depending from said launder and in communication therewith, adjustable means for supplying liquid under pressure in upward streams to the said sorting" apparatus mechanical means for taking up the products discharged by the sorting apparatus farthest away from the aforesaid feeding means and discharging them into the launder between such feeding means and the nearest of the aforesaid sorting apparatus, a launder extension leading with a slight downward slope to the highest end of the aforesaid launder, adjustable means for supplying liquid for a conveying stream to the highest end of said launder extension,.

an additional adjustable wet sorting apparatus depending from and in communication with said launder extension, adjustable means for supplying liquid under pressure in upwardstreams to said additional sorting apparatus, mechanical means for taking up the products discharged by the sorting ap" paratus depending from the launder closest to the aforesaid feeding means and discharging them into the launder extension between the highest end thereof and the additional sorting apparatus, and a crushing mill arranged in said launder extension between the last named sorting apparatus and the high end of the launder, substantially as described. a

3. The combination in plant for washing coal and otherminerals by means of liquid streams of: a launder having a slight downwardslope in relation to the horizontal, means for feeding the raw mineral to the highest end of said launder, a plurality of adjustable upward stream wet sorting apparatus arranged at intervals under said launder and in communication therewith, adjustably controlled means for supplying liquid under pressure to said sorting apparatus, mechanical means for taking up the products discharged at the base of the sort-v ing apparatus depending'from the lowest section of the launder and returning them i into the portion of the said launder leading to the sorting apparatus depending from the highestsection thereof in the direction of the downward slope of such launder, a

launder extension leading with a slight downward slope to the highest end of the aforesaid launder, adjustably controlled means for taking up the products discharged by the sorting apparatus depending from the highest section of the launder and conveying them to the portion of the. launder extension leading to the aforesaid additional sorting apparatus in the direction of the downward slope ofsuch launder extension, and a crushing mill arranged in.

said launder extension between the last named sorting apparatus and the adjacent end of the launder, substantially as described.

4. In plant for washing coal and other" minerals,-the combination of: a launder having a slight downward slope in relation to the horizontal, a feeding hopper for the raw mineral discharging into the highest end of said launder, two upward stream wet sorting apparatus with adjustable sorting chamber and oscillatory discharge flap, arranged at intervals under and in communication with the launder, a bucket elevator having acollecting boot arranged under the base of the sorting apparatus closest to the low end of the launder and a discharge chute adapted to deliver into the portion of said launder leading from the feeding hopper to the other sorting apparatus, a launder extension leading with a slight downward slope to the highest end of the aforesaid launder, adjustably controlled means for supplying liquid for a conveying stream to the highest end of said launder extension, an additional upward stream wet sorting apparatus with adjustable sorting chamber and oscillatory discharge Hap, depending from and in comniunication with said launder extension, adjustably controlled means for supplying liquidunder pressure to said additional sorting apparatus, a bucket elevator having a collecting boot'arranged under the base of the wet sorting a paratus depending from the aforesaid launder closestto the high end thereof and a discharge chute adapted to deliver into the portion of the launder extension leading to the aforesaid additional sorting apparatus in the direction of the downward slope of such launder extension, and a crushing mill arranged in said launder extension between the last named sorting apparatus and ,the launder.

ANTOINE FRANCE. 

